The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new Spathiphyllum varieties suitable for production in commercial pot sizes of 20 to 25 cm, with fast growth, upright plant habit and dark green foliage. The new variety originated from a cross-pollination of a proprietary, unpatented seed parent referred to as ‘96-3-04’ and the pollen parent, a proprietary, unpatented Spathiphyllum referred to as ‘95-1-8’. The crossing was made during March 2007.
The new variety was discovered by the inventor, Marian Osiecki in September 2008 in a group of seedlings resulting from the crossing. The new cultivar was found in a commercial greenhouse in Altha, Fla.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘S48’ was first performed at a commercial laboratory in Altha, Fla. by tissue culture explants in May 2011. Subsequent propagation by tissue culture has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.